Murders are nothing new, and with a large number being committed across the country each day, many go unnoticed. However, ever so often, details of certain killings emerge which are so chilling that they remain in the psyche of the people for a long time.
Here are some of the most chilling murders that have shaken the nation:
Sheena Bora murder case: When the burnt body of a young woman was found by villagers in the forests in Maharashtra’s Raigad area, no one would have imagined the furore it would cause three years later. The murder of Sheena Bora, media honcho Indrani Mukherjea’s daughter, who till recently had been known as her sister, has hooked the nation since it first came out. The police have arrested three people so far – Indrani, her ex husband, Sandeep Khanna and her driver.Various motive theories are also floating along – that the murder was because of Sheena’s relationship with Rahul Mukerjea, Peter Mukerjea’s son from his first marriage, and that money and property are the main reasons behind the murder. Indrani’s son, Mikhael Bora has also alleged that plans were being made by his mother of murdering him by spiking his drink.
On August 30, the police seized a suitcase that was meant to pack Mikhail’s body. The key accused Sanjeev Khanna and the driver have been taken to the spot to recreate the crime scene. As per the latest reports, Indrani may be booked for attempted murder of her son as well. Police claim that they have also tracked down Sheena’s actual father, Siddharth Das.
Sunanda Pushkar murder case: Sunanda Pushkar, a businesswoman, married diplomat and politician Shashi Tharoor in 2010 – the third marriage for both of them. All seemed to be well in their paradise until a series of intimate posts started to appear on Tharoor’s Twitter account, allegedly posted by Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar, proclaiming her love for him. While Tharoor immediately stated that his account had been hacked, Sunanda declared that it was she who had made the tweets public. She called Mehr an ISI agent and said that she had been stalking Tharoor. Post a joint statement made on January 16, 2014 stating that all is well between them, the next day, Sunanda was found dead in the suite of the Leela Palace, Chanakyapuri. While initial reports said that Sunanda had committed suicide, later reports from the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) stated that there were injury marks in her body and that the death was unnatural. In June 2015, Dr Sudhir Gupta, former forensic department Director, who had conducted the post-mortem on Sunanda, wrote to the Health Minister stating that he had been pressurised to give a false report on her death. He stated that there had been a tacit understanding between the AIIMS director, MC Mishra and Tharoor to tailor the report to make it look like a natural death.
The Delhi Police, in January this year, filed a murder case stating that she was poisoned. Six people, including three prime witnesses - family friend Dr Sanjay Dewan, the Consul General of Cape Verde, who had called the police on finding Sunanda, Tharoor’s driver, Bajrangi and the domestic help, Narain Singh, had undergone polygraph tests. Tharoor has also been questioned in connection with the case, however the question, ‘Who killed Sunanda?’ remains unanswered.
Aarushi Talwar murder case: This gruesome double murder of 14 year old Aarushi and domestic help, 45 year old Hemraj Banjade in Noida, took the nation by storm. On May 16, 2008, the body of Aarushi was found and the domestic help was considered the main suspect – until his decomposed body was also found. The suspicion then shifted to Arushi’s parents, Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, with the CBI filling a closure report naming Rajesh Talwar as the main suspect. As per the CBI report, Rajesh found Aarushi in an objectionable position with Hemraj, and killed him in a fit of anger. The police also speculated that Hemraj could have been killed because he knew of Rajesh’s extra marital affair, and that Nupur was also killed because she was witness to the murder.
In November, 2013, a special CBI court held Rajesh and Nupur Talwar guilty on charges of murder, destruction of evidence, misleading the probe and filing a wrong FIR. They were then sentenced to life imprisonment for the twin murders. The Talwars have maintained that they are innocent, till date.
Neeraj Grover murder case: Neeraj Grover was a well known name in the TV circuit. While on the job, he met Maria Susairaj, and in the process of helping her get roles, became intimate with the small time South Indian actress. Lieutenant M.L Jerome Mathew was Maria’s boyfriend. On May 6, 2008, Neeraj went to visit Maria and was never seen again. His family filed a missing persons report. The police tracked Maria when she answered a call on Neeraj’s phone, which had been with her since his death. She denied any knowledge and fabricated stories for ten days, until she broke down and told the police that it was Jerome who had stabbed Neeraj when he found them in bed together. After killing Neeraj, Jerome and Maria cut the body in to many pieces, stuffed it into a bag, drove to Manor in Maharashtra and set it on fire.
Maria was found not guilty of murder, but guilty of destroying evidence, and received a maximum sentence of three years imprisonment. Jerome was found guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. He received ten years imprisonment for the killing and three years for destroying evidence.
Nithari Killings: One of the most horrifying serial murders till date, the Nithari killings took place in December 2006. Eight remains of children were discovered from the drain of the house of Moninder Singh Pandher, a businessman, in Noida. After being interrogated by the police, it was discovered that the house help, Surinder Koli had been raping and killing young women and children, sometimes even cooking and eating them. As more skeletons were discovered from the house, the CBI took over the investigation in January 2007.
In February 2009, Moninder and Surinder were convicted of rape and murder of Rimpa Halder by a special sessions judge in Ghaziabad. Surinder has been convicted of five murders and was sentenced to death. However, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in September 2014, because of the inordinate delay in deciding his mercy petiton. Moninder was acquitted of one of the murders in 2009, and his death sentence was commuted. He is still a co accused in the other cases.
Nitish Katara murder case: Delhi based business executive, Nitish Katara, committed one major error that cost him his life. He fell in love with Bharti Yadav, daughter of politician DP Yadav, who is also a mafia don. Bharti’s brother, Vikas Yadav, found out about the relationship and, on February 17, 2002, on the pretext of going out for a drive with Nitish and Vishal Yadav, a cousin, battered Nitish to death with a hammer, poured kerosene over his body and set him on fire.
Initially Bharti, who had moved to London after the killing, sent emails to Katara’s brother accusing her father of sanctioning the killings, but later stated that the account was hacked. Many other witnesses also turned hostile. Vikas and Vishal were found guilty by a trial court on May 28, 2008 and were awarded life sentences on May 30, 2008. On August 18, 2015, the Supreme Court of India upheld a High Court verdict of February 06, 2015, sentencing Vishal and Vikas to 30 years in prison for the murder of Nitish Katara.
Jessica Lal murder case: Her only fault was to turn down Manu Sharma’s request to provide more liquor after closing hours at a party on April 30, 1999. Sharma, the son of former Congress minister, Venod Sharma, shot model-turned-bartender, Jessica Lall fatally, in front of numerous eye-witnesses. Manu was acquitted by a court in 2006 because of lack of evidence, after many eye witnesses turned hostile. Post a long drawn out battle, fought to a large extent by the media and the general public, the Delhi High Court took up the case again and convicted Manu of the murder, sentencing him to life imprisonment on December, 20, 2006. On April 19, 2009, the Supreme Court upheld the life imprisonment.
He is currently lodged in Tihar jail, though he is said to be spending more time at his father’s hotel – the Piccadily Hotel in Janakpuri, than in jail, through the undue favours that he has been getting from the jail staff.
Rizwanur Rahman murder case: He was a graphic trainer who came from a middle class background, she the daughter of industrialist Ashok Todi, owner of the Lux Hosiery Group. Rizwanur Rahman fell in love with Priyanka Todi and they got married secretly on August 18, 2007. The families did not know of the marriage until Rizwanur brought her home to his middle class Muslim neighbourhood on August 31, 2007. When Priyanka’s family got to be know about the marriage, Rizwanur was allegedly threatened of dire consequences if he did not separate from his wife. The police forced Rizwanur to send Priyanka back to her house for a week.
On September 21, 2007, Rizwanur’s body was found at the railway tracks in Kolkata and it was initially claimed to be a suicide. But, post public outcry about the alleged cover up by the police, the Kolkata High Court declared the case as murder in May, 2010. It is now being investigated by the CBI.
Tandoor murder case: Two constables of the Delhi police were patrolling along the Ashoka Road in Delhi when they heard a woman screaming about a fire in the Ashok Yatri Niwas hotel on July 2, 1995. They noticed that smoke and fire was emanating from the Bagiya Bar-be-que restaurant in the hotel. On entering the restaurant, they found the manager at the tandoor, placing logs and pieces of firewood into the fire. On questioning, the manager claimed that he was burning old banners and posters, but a foul smell emanating from it roused the police constable’s suspicion. When the fire was doused, burnt human remains were found inside the tandoor.
This was the body of Naina Sahni, a 29 year old Congress worker who was married to Congress youth leader Sushil Sharma. He had suspected her of having an illicit affair with Matloob Karim, her classmate and Congress coworker, and, in a fit of rage had shot her. He then sought the help of the manager of Bagiya, Keshav Kumar, who chopped the body into pieces and burnt it. Sushil Sharma was convicted of murder by the Trial Court, Delhi High Court and Supreme Court. On October 8, 2013, Sharma was awarded life imprisonment by the SC, while the manager was given seven years rigorous imprisonment.
Syed Modi Murder case: Eight time national badminton champion Syed Modi was shot dead in Lucknow on July 28, 1988 as he was coming out of the KD Singh Babu Stadium. The police filed murder charges against Modi’s wife, Ameeta and her lover, Raja Sanjay Singh, a politician belonging to the Congress party and Ameeta’s future husband. The scandal attracted worldwide attention. In a probe ordered by the then Congress Government in UP by the CBI, seven people were charge-sheeted. The case against Ameeta and Sanjay, that of conspiracy, was dropped. Two other accused died before their involvement could be probed. The contract killer Bhagwati Singh was found guilty of murder and possessing illegal arms, fined and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Gayatri Vinayak (Courtesy)
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